Ohio Makes Inroads in War on Sepsis

John Commins, October 19, 2017

The Ohio Hospital Association is about halfway through a 124-hospital, statewide initiative to reduce sepsis mortality by 30% by the end of 2018. Data shows the initiative is working and the target is attainable.

Mike Abrams

About 1,486 lives have been saved since the Ohio Hospital Association began itsstatewide initiative to reduce sepsis deaths in 2015. A new status report details the progress that’s been made in combating the single most expensive condition in the nation’s healthcare economy. Mike Abrams, president of the Ohio Hospital Association, spoke again with HealthLeaders Media about the progress being made. The following is a lightly edited transcript.

HLM: You’re about 18 months into a three-year initiative. How’s it going?

Abrams: Our goal is by the end of 2018 to have a reduction in sepsis mortality of 30%. We’ve achieve about a 13.5% statewide reduction. I sense a real enthusiasm and a real momentum on our side. You see from the report there has been great uptake on the part of our membership.

Anytime you can make people intellectually curious about a situation, that is half the battle. We have stimulated a lot of discussion and interest in prioritizing this problem. One of the elements of that is a deep and abiding commitment on the part of hospital and health system leadership. The C Suites are committed to resolving this issue.

I always remind audiences when I speak around the state that sepsis is the single most expensive condition in the US healthcare economy. Not only is it costly in terms of human life, it’s very costly for the overall economy of our country. This is something that health systems across the country need to make sure they are prioritizing.